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Ronin Class
Starfleet has a long history of developing their largest exploratory cruisers in conjunction with smaller, easier to build starships. The abilities of these smaller ships tend to be comparable to the abilities of their sister ships. This long history started with the Constitution and Miranda Class starships being built in conjunction, and has since been carried into the development of the Galaxy Class starship and it's sister ship the Nebula Class. With the successful development of the Sovereign Class, Starfleet called upon the Starfleet Corps of Engineers to build a sister ship for her utilizing the best systems the Sovereign had to offer. The design for the Ronin Class was put on the drawing board in 2367 only a few years after the Sovereign. The Ronin Class was going to be a test bed for a lot of systems along side the Sovereign, but would be a more economically efficient design in many ways by being smaller and more compact. Production was moved along swiftly with the increasing threats from the Borg Collective and other races, and as a direct result the keel was laid down only a few years later. Construction was halted several times to prevent system flaws that had been found in the USS Sovereign during its testing and shakedown cruise. Many of the circuitry systems were replaced with bioneural gel packs after the successful testing of the systems on board both the shakedown of the USS Sovereign and the successful fielding of the Intrepid class. With the disastrous first contact with the Dominion, the Ronin Class was pushed into production a lot sooner than had been originally intended. This was so that it could be fielded in any possible conflicts alongside it's sister ship. However, before the ship could be launched Starfleet Command requested that the Ronin Class be equipped with the Type-XX phaser. The system was powerful and was expected to perform well against the Dominion, just as it had against the Borg, but only time and use would tell. With the official declaration of war against the Dominion the Ronin was shoved out of dry dock largely untested. Even though many of the systems mirrored it's sister ship, the Sovereign, the configuration of these systems on the Ronin and the added phaser cannons would have much to prove. The prototype, was launched within the Ninth Fleet under the command of General Martok during the Dominion War. During an engagement along the Dominion front, the Ronin found herself alone, poised against four Cardassian Galor class warships. The ship was originally installed with several photon torpedo launchers along the main hull of the ship and three quantum torpedo turrets: one on the underside of the saucer section like the Sovereign Class, and one in the fore of each nacelle. This layout for quantum torpedo turrets presented difficulties in the battle and they overloaded and failed due to their close proximity to the ships warp coils. This battle also represented the first test of the USS Ronin’s phaser cannons, which proved rather unsuccessful as well: the ships engineering crew soon came to find that the ships cannons absorbed a lot of power other primary and secondary systems needed upon firing, including the ships shields. The ship survived the engagement but required towing back to dock. The power distribution problem with the ships phaser cannons was a significant flaw, but Starfleet deemed them a necessary addition and ordered that they be installed anyway. To fix the torpedo launcher problem significant modifications were required, including the installation of re-designed, larger and more efficient shielding and coolant systems. The ship re-entered service at the end of the war, in 2377, with several more ordered for construction. The Ronin isn't a ship noted for it's speed, but her phaser cannons say a lot for her combat abilities. The Ronin Class also sports the fully advanced exploration-driven sensor suit she shares with the Sovereign Class. Currently the Ronin serves as a Strike Cruiser in combat situations, lending its quick, powerful bursts of fire but inherently weaker shields to this role. Category:Federation Classes